The hurt mind demands caution and restriction

The following is an excerpt from a samvaad (dialogue) session with Acharya Prashant.

Question: We talk of the highest negotiation or interaction, the Love, which is basically completely forgetting our self and seeing the other person’s interest.

So, I would like to ask you that is it really practical in this real world? Is it really fruitful in this ever going competitive world to completely forget our self and look at other person’s interest?

Acharya Prashant (AP): At this moment do you really remember your ankle?I remember my shoulder, it is hurting. I was driving up the hills, riding my bike, it slipped, hit me here and it is still hurting and it is constantly reminding me of itself. Does your shoulder remind you of itself?

Listener (L): No Sir.

AP: What if you have a headache? Will the head make its presence felt? It would constantly be reminding you of itself. You said, “The third kind of negotiation is about forgetting who you are”.

When can you forget something?

You can forget something, especially yourself,

only when you are completely healthy.

What is healthy is forgotten, what is sick is remembered.

Is that not so?